It was described as a greenfield site – undeveloped, bare land, never used before. But a team of female designers and architects who created the new Willowdale Sports Precinct to service residents in a southern Sydney suburb near Campbelltown found it was anything but.

Thousands of years before retailers such as Bunnings or Barbeques Galore sold fireballs, made from clay or ceramics, Indigenous people in southern Sydney were manufacturing them on an industrial scale in East Leppington (now called Willowdale) to cook food for large groups in underground ovens.

“Essentially, it was a meeting spot to have a barbie,” said architect Gabrielle Pelletier, an associate director of Sam Crawford Architects (SCA), who won the 2025 NSW Emerging Architect Prize. “We loved that story. It was key for us.”

Willowdale Sports Precinct, Denham Court.Credit: RELD Group

Clay balls found nearby, with holes where seeds had been pushed in to roast in an oven. Credit: Godden Mackay Logan Heritage

The bricks in the foyer are dotted with red balls of clay, about the same size and colour of the fireballs made on site. Credit: RELD Group

The colour and shape of these clay fireballs was reflected throughout the new centre, precinct and playground designed by Aspect Studio’s senior associate Natalie Bernuetz, with artist Sonia van de Haar, the creative director of Lymesmith, and Pelletier, the project architect.

Circular skylights created spotlights on the ground below. The shape is reflected in mirrors, lights and signs.

The blush-pink terracotta colour of the clay is reflected in the mortar and the bricks.

Architect Gabrielle Pelletier, an associate director of Sam Crawford Architects, with artist Sonia van de Haar, creative director of Lymesmith, look up at the circular skylights at the Willowdale Sports Precinct.